The subject matter disclosed herein relates to an electrical section of towers and, in particular, to safety guide systems for modules within an electrical section of a tower.
Wind turbines, as known in the prior art, include a tower portion and a rotor mounted on top of the tower portion. The rotor portion may include one or more blades that rotate about a center point (rotor) when in the presence of wind. The rotor motion may then be converted to electrical or other energy by known means.
Many wind towers include electrical machinery within them for converting rotational energy (from the rotor portion) into electrical energy. To save space the electrical machinery is located within the tower portion. The electrical machinery may include, for example, converter electronics, voltage switch gear and a transformer. In some cases, each of these components may be made in a pre-assembled power module (PPM). The PPM's are stacked one on top of one another and then surrounded by the tower portion.
Building a wind tower typically includes first building an electrical tower that includes a plurality of stacked PPMs. The tower portion (either as one piece or in separate pieces) is then lowered down from above to surround the PPMs. Once lowered, the lower tower section is secured to a foundation or tower foundation adapter located on the foundation.
Typically, as the tower sections are being lowered, a technician is located on each internal level to ensure that the tower section does not contact and, thus, damage the electronics on each of the stacked PPMs. Because wind towers are typically located in areas having frequent wind currents, it is common for wind gusts to move the tower sections as they are being lowered. This could lead to injury to the electronics if contacted by the moving tower sections.